The First Day of Spring
by CodyNaomiSwire
Summary: What if Chell and Wheatley's parents had worked at Aperture Science, and the two of them first met when they were kids? 'Blue Sky' AU. Inspired by the music video for 'Vårens Första Dag' ('The First Day of Spring') by LALEH.
1. Chapter 1

With her poster board under one arm, and her book bag over her shoulder, Chell began to walk down the front stairs of Aperture Academy as her fellow students hustled and pushed their way out of the school and into the open air. She took a deep breath and let it out again slowly, blowing away with it the cobwebs of the day. The sky was a bright, clear blue, the trees and grass were beginning to regain their green coloring, and the cool, crisp breeze carried with it all sorts of delicious and fresh smells. It was the perfect day to be outside.

The first day of spring.

Most of the students at Aperture Academy had at least one of their parents or a legal guardian working at Aperture Laboratories in some form or other. The facility had set up the academy about ten years ago for the children of their employees, only a short distance away from one of the many entrances into the labs. Although the facility itself may have been right underneath the academy for all Chell knew. Most people assumed it was a kind gesture on the part of the owners of Aperture to provide an education for their employee's children, but some – Chell being one of them – wondered if it wasn't just so they could recruit the offspring of their current employees for later…or perhaps to keep an eye on everyone who had any connection with that place.

As Chell headed toward the parking lot to wait for her dad to pick her up, she stopped as she heard the sound of kids laughing. Of course it wasn't an unusual sound for her to hear, but this sounded like a mean, teasing kind of laughter. If there was one thing Chell couldn't stand, it was bullying – treating someone as less than who they really are.

Less than human. She absolutely hated that.

She followed the sound around the corner of the building, and found a group of some of the meaner kids gathered around someone she couldn't quite see.

"C'mon then, don't be shy!" one of the boys jeered at their victim. "Say 'hello!' It would be rude not to."

There was a moment's hesitation before Chell heard the small and quiet voice of a boy say, "…Ello…" come from the middle of the huddle. The group then burst out laughing.

"Oh oh, here then gov," said another one of the kids, trying to imitate the boy's accent in an exaggerated and awful way. "How about you fix us all up some tea and crumpets like a little girl at tea time, eh? You like your teatimes don't you?" The group began laughing again.

"J-just leave me alone, alright?" Chell heard the boy reply, trying to sound tougher than he felt. The group laughed even louder as they heard how he accented the 'i' in 'alright'.

Chell had heard quite enough. She marched right on in among the group of bullies, and without looking at anyone, pushed her way through to the middle, grabbed the arm of the boy, and marched right back out again with him in tow. If she had looked, she would have seen utter surprise and also relief on the boy's face as she pulled him free of the tormenting gauntlet. She kept her eyes looking straight-ahead, utter determination in her expression. It was due to this kind of precedent that she didn't need to push her way back out of the crowd. Bullies though they may be, her assertiveness caused them to part without thinking and let her and the boy through. It was like watching a sort of version of the parting of the Red Sea.

There was a moment of silence as the crowd was trying to take in what just happened. But not wanting to just let the matter go, from behind them Chell heard one of them say, "Aww! Now you need little teatime girls to come and rescue you!" As the group began laughing yet again, Chell turned and glared them down so hard that they all once again fell absolutely silent. She then kept on going with a determined stride, still holding onto the boy's arm, and walked all the way to the back of the school building.

Once they got round the building, Chell let go of the boy's arm and was about to continue on her way to the parking lot, but before she had gone half a dozen steps she heard him cry out, "No, wait! Uh, please…don't go."

Chell stopped and turned and looked at the boy. He was skinny, was a bit taller than her, had short blonde hair, and a slightly pointed nose. He had glasses, and behind his glasses were the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen. Stratosphere blue, if she had to guess the exact shade of blue they were. When she though about it, she had actually seen him a few times around the school before then, almost always alone. He must have been new that year because she hadn't seen him before that term. In one hand he carried a big black case, and she also then remembered seeing him playing French horn in the band once.

"Uh…thank you. For- for helping me back there," he said, looking down at the ground. "Those fellows are always teasing me. Er- I mean, 'guys', those guys are always teasing me."

"Why are you doing that?" Chell asked.

"Huh? Doing what?" he replied in confusion.

"Trying to hide your accent just now?" Chell stated.

"Oh! I, uh, well, you know. Just trying to fit in, and all that," the boy replied, obviously not having expected to be called out on it.

"You don't have to do that," Chell said. "Besides, I really like your accent."

Here the boy looked up in surprise, a smile eventually coming to his face. "Really!? Oh, well, that's…uh, good. Seems like not very many people do around here. Either they find it funny, or else they say it sounds snobby or something."

"Well I don't think it sounds like that," Chell said, as if her statement were some sort of official decree needing no more discussion.

"Well, that's jolly decent of you to say!" said the boy, with a newfound enthusiasm. "Oh! I just realized! We haven't exchanged names. Ello!" he said happily, seeming to relish for once the accent he found he put on the word, and extending his free hand. "My name's Stephen."

Chell gave a small smile back and took his hand in hers. "Chell."

"Nice to meet you Chell," Stephen said, with his smile becoming bigger. "So, what've you got there?" he asked, pointing to the poster board she had under her arm.

"Oh, this," she said rather unenthusiastically. "This is the project I'm supposed to bring to 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day' at Aperture tomorrow."

"Whoa! Wait! You mean they're actually letting you into the lab?" Stephen asked in surprise. "Since when do they allow kids in there? I've never been allowed to go in, not even just to see my dad when he's working."

"I've gone in a few other times before," Chell said simply. Stephen's jaw dropped.

"Wha- when!?"

"Once every few months," Chell said. "Usually to see Ms. Caroline."

"You've seen Ms. Caroline!?" Stephen exclaimed in even further astonishment.

"And Mr. Johnson," she continued. By this time Stephen's expression was so goggle-eyed that Chell actually had to prevent herself from laughing. "I don't know why really, but every once in a while my dad would bring me down there, and every time he did we'd be notified that Ms. Caroline at least would want to see us. Sometimes just me."

Stephen then looked around quickly, eyes darting here and there to make sure no one else was listening. He then whispered to Chell, "Maybe it's some sort of conspiracy. I mean, this seems very strange that they should give you that kind of attention. I mean, uh, not that you don't, er, warrant good attention, but…uh…it does seem a bit strange, doesn't it?"

Chell just replied with a raise of an eyebrow. In all honesty, she really liked Ms. Caroline. She always had a full jar of cookies on her desk, and once she even gave Chell a diary for her birthday. But mostly Chell liked her because she was always so willing to listen to her and ask her questions about how things were going for her, what she was interested in, etc.

But she couldn't help but feel that there was something strange about the attention she got from Ms. Caroline, or even Mr. Johnson on occasion. Seeing as how she never entirely trusted the whole organization of Aperture, and seeing as how the two of them were the ones who were at the top when it came to running the place, it was only natural then that she would carry some similar feelings when it came to them. And she couldn't help but feel that sometimes they weren't just interested in 'who' she was, but 'what' she was. It was hard to explain, but sometimes it felt as if she were being 'observed' by them, rather than being actually listened to. Perhaps their scientific minds just ran like that, but she couldn't help but feel also a sense of reassurance to her theories as she now found someone who shared similar ones.

Chell decided then to change the subject.

"So, you said your dad works in the facility as well?"

"Huh? Oh, ah yes!" said Stephen, taking a moment to realize that Chell wanted to move the conversation on to something else, and Chell realized soon enough that that was completely fine by him. He seemed to really like to just talk about anything really. "He works in one of the engineering departments there. That's actually why my family is here. In-in America I mean. Originally I'm from England, as you can probably tell already. But they gave him a really good job offer here, and so he took it, and now here we are. I wish I could say it's been good here, but…well…I'm sure you, you understand."

Chell then went deep in thought for a moment before replying. "I do. I really do."

It was then Stephen's turn to raise an eyebrow as she put on emphasis on the last bit of her statement. Chell knew he was waiting for her to continue. Not really sure why, she felt that although she had barely known him for more than fifteen minutes tops, she could tell him about the things she was about to go into.

With a sigh, she began.

"Things haven't been great for me here either. I've been made fun of too you know."

Stephen's eyes once again went wide. "Wha- what could anyone make fun of you for? You're amazing!"

Chell looked at Stephen in surprise. She had never had anyone call her that before (except for perhaps Ms. Caroline and her dad). Suddenly realizing that perhaps what he just said, though nice, was also a bit awkward, Stephen once again looked down at the ground, cheeks turning red. Chell, not wanting him to feel even more awkward, simply continued.

"Well, they have. Mostly because of who I am. I mean, I'm adopted for one, and…well…I love my dad…my adoptive dad…so don't get me wrong, but…they also make fun of the last name I have from him."

"Oh…" Stephen replied, then also adding, "Well, there's nothing wrong with being adopted. And I'm sure your last name can't be all that bad."

"Rattman."

"Sorry, what?"

"Rattman…my last name."

"O-oh…" said Stephen, not knowing how else to respond to that. He didn't laugh though, which was a relief to Chell.

Suddenly seeming to have an idea pop into his head, Stephen sat down next to the rail of the patio of the school building, and pulled a tan-colored book out of his backpack.

"Here, I want to show you something!"

"Alright," said Chell, only too happy to have the subject change yet again.

"Here!" said Stephen excitedly, handing the book to Chell. She opened it to find that it was full of drawings. They were very unique to her in that on each page was a large circle in the middle, and in the circle was drawn a doodle of some kind. But nothing was drawn outside of the circles, although she thought that was fine as it made it all the more striking. It was like looking at things through a singular, round lens.

"Are these your drawings?" she asked.

"Yup!" he replied. "I don't usually show them to people a lot though. They seem to think they're a bit…well…weird. Even I don't really know why, but I've always really liked circles. I guess that may be a bit weird, but if you think about it, a lot of things are circles. Or at least round, or round-ish. Like cells, or the sun or the moon, or basketballs, or footballs- er, I mean, soccer balls. You Americans seem to have really weird-shaped footballs. Uh, that is, um, sorry that just slipped out. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," said Chell, still flipping through the pages. "I really like these."

"Thanks!" he said, now very cheerful.

For the next hour or so, Chell and Stephen hung out around the schoolyard. They talked for a bit more, but eventually they also found themselves playing tag and whatever other random games they could come up with. One of them was a sort of obstacle course game Stephen came up with in which they had to use their text books as stepping stones to get over an imaginary pool of acidic goo. Chell then showed him the butterfly mask she had made in art class that day, and Stephen showed her how to play a few notes on his French horn.

For the both of them, it was so nice to have found a new friend. A lot of new things come about in springtime it seemed.

But eventually, their playtime was interrupted by a voice calling from around the building.

"Chell! Chell! Are you back here!"

"Oh crap!" said Chell. "I totally forgot! That's my dad. I'd better go. I'll see you soon yeah?"

"Oh, yes please!" exclaimed Stephen. "I'd better go too. But, uh, would you want to meet up sometime over spring break? I'll draw another picture, and show you more of how to play the French horn, or even the piano if you wanted. My mum insisted I take lessons you see, and-"

"Chell!"

"I'm here! Coming!" Chell called out to her dad. She then turned back to Stephen real quick as she picked up her things. "Yeah, I'm sure we can work something out."

"Great!" he said. And then extended his hand out again. "It was really nice to meet you Chell."

Chell glanced down at his hand, seemed to think for a moment, and then as she took it in hers she pulled him forward and gave him a quick hug.

"Was nice to meet you too, mate!" she said over her shoulder as she ran around the corner of the building. Before that afternoon, Stephen would have thought it teasing to have someone imitate his speech like that, but he knew that certainly wasn't the intent this time. After getting over his surprise at the unexpected hug, he then picked up his things, and headed for home. Before that day, he always went home looking a bit sullen as his days at school were rather like how they had been only a couple hours before. But now, for the first time, he went home from school with a silly smile that lit up his whole face.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Stephen spent hours working on his next picture. Before then, he would have just scribbled down whatever doodling idea had come into his head. But this time was different. He wanted to make this picture special. Every stroke of his pencil or pen or marker had to be perfect, had to count. And he made a copy of his fingering chart for the French horn. He wasn't really sure if Chell was really that into learning how the play the French horn, but it wouldn't hurt to have a chart for her anyway. He knew Chell would be busy with the 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day' at the lab that day, but he looked forward to seeing her the next day.

That evening, his dad didn't come home from work at the usual time. By the time Stephen went to bed, he still hadn't come home. Finally, at one o'clock in the morning, Stephen woke up as he heard a sound coming from the kitchen. For a moment he couldn't identify what it was. Then it struck him.

It was sobbing. Grown-up sobbing.

He quietly got up and tip toed into the hallway. He stopped partway, near the doorway to the kitchen, and listened for a bit. He didn't pick up much in between his dad's sobbing, but he did hear something about "an accident" and "how could they chose that day of all days…to turn Her on" and how "even some of the young ones were lost."

"Her? Young ones?" he thought to himself. "What's dad talking about?"

Stephen almost wanted to go in and find out what was going on, but he was afraid to. He had never heard his father cry before, so that was enough to make him hesitant. He could hear his mother trying to shush him gently. He figured his presence wouldn't make things better, so he quietly snuck back to his bed, but he couldn't get back to sleep. At least not very well.

He spent the rest of the night tossing and turning, dozing on and off, until morning came. As he went out into the kitchen for breakfast, he found the atmosphere at the table tense, and his dad….looking utterly shell shocked. He had no breakfast plate in front of him, and the cup of coffee he had clutched between his hands had long since gone cold, perhaps without any sips being taken from it.

"Morning," he said, hoping to lighten the mood a bit.

"Oh, hello Stephen dear," said his mother, who sounded as if she hadn't had a restful night either. "Would you like some toast this morning?"

"Uh, sure," he replied as he sat down across from his dad. For a few moments longer, there was complete silence.

Finally, Stephen couldn't take it anymore.

"So, how was work yesterday dad?" he asked.

Although he couldn't see it, he could feel his mom tense up behind him as he spoke. His dad's hands balled into fists, he stared down hard at the tabletop, and his jaw clenched. He said nothing.

"Y-your father had a hard day yesterday Stephen," his mom interjected. "Don't ask him any more about it, alright?"

"Oh…ok…" he replied in a quiet voice. Once again the atmosphere became really dark and awkward as his mom set his toast in front of him. So he thought he would change the subject.

"I met a new girl at school yesterday."

"Oh, did you dear?"

"Yeah, her name's Chell. Chell Rattman."

"What!?" his dad said, looking Stephen straight in the eyes as he said this in a stunned tone of voice. The look in his eyes was one Stephen had never seen before. It looked like a mix of alarm and fear. It must have transferred through his eyes into Stephen's and then down into his gut, because he then suddenly felt very afraid as he looked back into them.

"Uh…Ch-Chell. Chell Rattman. Her-her dad also works at Aperture too. Well, he would if she goes to Aperture Academy too of course. Hey! Maybe you've seen her there Dad. She was at the 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day' event yesterday. And- and she said she knows Ms. Caroline. In fact she-"

"NO!" his dad shouted, banging a fist down on the table. "DON'T EVER MENTION HER AGAIN!" Stephen was absolutely petrified. He sat there, clinging to the sides of his chair as if for dear life, his startled heart booming in his chest and ears. He had never seen his dad like this before. He felt tears suddenly start to come to his eyes. His dad suddenly had a slight softness come back into his expression as he saw them.

"Oh Stephen, I- I'm sorry," he said, nearly choking on another sob at the end. But he swallowed and was able to continue. "Look…just…like your mum said, work has been…hard lately. And…Ms. Caroline has…well…been a part of that."

"Ok…" Stephen said, with a waver in his voice. "Does that…does that mean you don't want me to talk to Chell anymore."

"No son," his father replied. "Chell has nothing to do with this." Although he said the last bit with a slight lack of confidence, as if he didn't entirely believe what he just said. "You…you can go on talking to her…when you see her next."

"O-ok," said Stephen, pretending to just straighten out his glasses, but also wiping off one of his tear stained eyes. It was then he remembered the determined look Chell had in her eyes as she faced the bullies the other day. Whatever had happened to his dad yesterday, it was like the bullies at school. It made his dad feel trapped and broken down inside and scared. Perhaps then he could be like Chell. Even though he couldn't make the situation itself different, maybe he could be the one to take him by the hand, and bring him out of it into the fresh air, even if only for a little while. He couldn't do that by crying. He had to be brave.

So he turned to his dad with a look that for him was his first real determined expression. In fact, he looked rather grown up for a moment. "Ok," he said in a new and more steady voice. "And…and I'm here. If you should need anything."

His dad looked at him for a moment, and then said, "There isn't much anyone can do, but…thank you Stephen."

She never came back.

Stephen waited for Chell at the same spot on the school's back patio, at the same time as the other day, but she never showed up. He waited again the day after, and the day after that. Still, she never came.

Part of him couldn't help but feel that she just didn't want to see him anymore, or look at his pictures, or learn French horn from him, but when he thought of how she faced the bullies for him, and how she had said, "Was nice to meet you too, mate," he knew that couldn't be it. Perhaps it had something to do with what happened at his dad's job the other day. Maybe her own dad had a bad time too and was caught up in something now and she had to be at home for a while.

Finally, spring break came and went, and still there was no sign of Chell. She didn't even come back to school after it had started up again. Some of the other girls weren't there as well. Stephen tried to ask some of the teachers about where Chell was, but all he got were evasive roundabout answers.

Finally, he asked his dad if he could find out anything about Chell. Ever since that day, his dad was very hesitant to talk about anything having to do with Aperture, but he was willing to help his son find out what he could about his friend. One day he came home to say that he had talked with Doug Rattman, who said that Chell was all right, and that she had just gone to live with Doug's brother and sister-in-law for a time. He wouldn't give an address though.

"He's a bit of a strange fellow anyway, Doug is," his dad told him. "I don't think it's anything personal Stephen. We just need to give them space for a while."

Stephen was glad to hear that she was ok, but he was sad to have his only friend here in a America go away. Even though they had only really met her once, he felt as if he had a best friend leave him. He already went through that once recently when he left his friends in England. It felt awful to have it happen again so soon.


	3. Chapter 3

With a frustrated sigh, Chell set up her potato battery display under the 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day' banner, along with several of her classmates'. All of the projects were about potato batteries, except for Stacey's, as she got the assignments mixed up and made a baking soda volcano instead. Why they were asked to do such meaningless projects in the first place Chell didn't know. Frankly she didn't really care. She had been down to the offices of Aperture enough times already, so being there yet again wasn't particularly special for her. Her classmates, however, were restless with excitement – and also apprehension – as they stood near their booths. The employees that walked past didn't really pay much attention. Chell could hardly blame them.

However, she did hope to see Ms. Caroline that day. Surely she would stop by to see all the girls' projects. Even if she found them rather pointless, she would still be kind enough to at least have a look at them and bring them some of the cookies from the jar on her desk. Maybe even Mr. Johnson would come by. He'd probably be too busy, but you never knew with him. One day it would seem as if he had all the time in the world to do whatever he wanted. Then the next he would be running around, as if he had a million things to do all at once, and as if the facility's very existence hung on whatever it was he had to do that day. He must have been having a lot of those kinds of days in the months prior to now, because the last time Chell saw him he was looking very worn down, and would even break into uncontrollable coughing fits.

He also looked as if he were in some sort of pain.

Chell hadn't seen either Mr. Johnson or Ms. Caroline for some time now. The last time she saw Ms. Caroline was about three months ago, and it had been an odd meeting with her. Ms. Caroline seemed rather sad and depressed, as if she had just had some sort of tragedy happen in her life, or was expecting one to be coming her way soon…or both. She tried to hide it, but Chell could tell there was something different – something wrong – about the way she would try to smile or make conversation that day. And when it was time for Chell to leave, Ms. Caroline actually went up and hugged her. Tight. Really tight. It was the first time she had hugged Chell, and it also seemed as if she thought it the last.

She then said something really odd into Chell's ear as she hugged her. She said, "Promise me that you'll always remember – you're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." And then - rather reluctantly Chell thought – she let go, and then went back into her office.

Chell happened to recognize what Ms. Caroline said as being a quote from Winnie the Pooh. Cute story…but something like that suddenly coming from Ms. Caroline seemed actually rather creepy. Well, maybe not creepy, but certainly unnerving in the very least.

"Hey Dad."

"Yes Chell?"

"Will Ms. Caroline be coming by today by chance? I want to ask her about a few things."

"Oh, uh" her dad stuttered, caught off guard by the question, and looking around as if he expected the whole office to be listening. He dropped his voice down low. "I…well…I'm afraid, you see, Ms. Caroline- she…uh…she's been really busy lately. I'm not sure if you'll get to see her today."

"Oh," said Chell, knowing that he wasn't telling her everything. This happened a lot when she asked him about anything having to do with Aperture. But she did trust him. So she wasn't going to press the matter any further…for now at least.

For the next few hours the day wore on, and Chell was getting tired of sitting by her poster board and potato. "This is so lame," she thought to herself. "I hope Stephen is having a better time than me. Maybe he's working on his new picture. I hope I get to see it tomorrow. Maybe we can also-"

Just then, there was a huge tremor that felt as if it shook the entire facility. The lights flickered, and everyone clung to whatever piece of furniture was nearest to them, and letting out little shrieks or yelps of surprise. It stopped as quickly as it came, but Chell also thought that she felt the floor beneath her feet slightly rise and fall, as if she were standing on top of the chest of a giant beast as it breathed in and out.

It was as if…the very building itself…was suddenly alive.

Then, a cold, metallic, feminine voice came over the intercom system (or perhaps throughout the very walls of the building as it suddenly seemed to come from everywhere at once).

"Hello. And, again, welcome to the Aperture Science Computer-Aided Enrichment Center. Wwwweeeee hope that-th-th- that zzzztthh….the testing….kkkkch…that yooooouuuu-"

Just then, the voice turned horrible, sinister, and screamed.

"uuuuuaaaaaahhhhHHHAAAAAAHAHHHHHHH! AARRGGHHHHH! I HAAAATTEE YOOOOUUU! AAARRRRAAAAAHHHH!"

The building once again gave a shake, but this next one was much bigger than the one before, and lasted longer. As Chell clutched the table her poster board was sitting on, she heard her classmates and everyone else in the room scream as well, and sirens and buzzers began ringing and wailing on top of it all. The sounds were all so loud – especially the screaming of that robotic voice – that Chell eventually had to use one hand to cover one of her ears. Then she felt a hand grab her arm.

"CHELL DEAR, COME ON!" her dad shouted above the din, his face pale, and utter horror in his eyes. Chell stumbled with him to the nearest exit, which happened to be right near where she had set up her poster board. They continued to move through a few more hallways, the shaking and the screaming still going on.

"What's happening!?" Chell yelled to her dad, but either he didn't hear her, or else he was only concentrating on getting them to safety, for he didn't turn back or say anything. He kept a firm grip on her hand, keeping her as close to him as he could, and pressed on forward as well as the quaking floor would allow him to.

Before Chell knew what happened next, she suddenly heard a great crash behind her, felt herself and her dad being flung forward, and then she blacked out.

The next thing she knew, Chell was waking up with a massive headache. As she opened her eyes, she blinked as the sudden bright white light made her eyes smart, and her head ache even more. She tried to sit up, but found her stiff muscles scream in protest.

Screaming…yes…so much screaming…and her friends! And Dad!

"Dad! Dad!" she called out. "Dad! Where are you?"

She then heard the noise of a door opening, and turned to find a lady in a nurse's outfit come into the room.

"Easy dear, it's alright," she said. "You're safe now."

"Wha-what happened? Where's my dad?"

"Your dad's fine," the nurse told her. "In fact, he's one of the lucky ones. So are you for that matter."

Chell felt herself suddenly go cold. "What d-do you mean?"

"You've been through an accident," the nurse said. "Do you remember?"

"Y-yes…" Chell began to say, but found that she couldn't continue to speak as she felt her throat tighten up, and then she felt hot tears start to run down her cheeks.

"I-I want my dad…"

"Alright dear," said the nurse, trying to shush her gently. "I'll see if he's able to see you now."

After a few minutes, they brought Chell's dad in a wheelchair. They didn't want him walking around on his own yet as he was still a bit uneasy when standing. His right wrist was bandaged, and it looked as if he had stitches in his forehead and a few bruises, but otherwise he assured Chell that he was all right.

"Dad…what happened back there? What caused the accident?"

"It was no accident," he said in a quietly harsh tone, staring down hard into his lap. "It was a bunch of…fools…who didn't know what they….what they…what they were doing. What they were dealing with. Picking today of all…argh! The…the FOOLS!"

Chell could tell by the pauses in his speech that he was trying hard to keep his temper, or at least censor himself from using whatever language he felt like using when it came to those he saw as being responsible for what happened.

"And…" Chell swallowed hard. "What happened…to everyone else?"

Her dad looked very sad as he turned to her. He then reached out, and clutched her hands in his own, with tears welling up in his eyes.

He didn't need to say any more than that.


	4. Chapter 4

After Chell had left, the bullying had started up again for Stephen.

Without his 'teatime girl' to stick up for him anymore (as the bullies put it), Stephen once again became a target for them. It felt downright unbearable at times – with the nagging and jeering - but whenever Stephen remembered how she had pulled him out into the open air, and how honestly she said she had liked him simply for who he was, he somehow found the strength to keep on.

He couldn't give up. She wouldn't have, so neither would he.

He also made sure to help those who were also targeted by the bullies whenever he could, just like how she had. In the end, he had made a few friends in that struggle. One of them was a boy named Kevin (who wanted very much to be an astronaut when he grew up), and then there was Craig. At first Stephen thought Craig was a big know-it-all, who was always shooting his hand up first in class and interjecting all sorts of facts just to show off. But that all changed on the day Stephen took his place in a dare when Rick, one of the bigger boys at the school (and also one of the biggest flirts), dared him to walk across the rotten log that stretched over the creek in the small bit of woods near the school. The endeavor resulted with Stephen spraining his ankle as the log broke underneath him, and a wet tumble into the stony creek below. But it also resulted with Craig helping him back home and being his friend from that day on. And strangely enough, Rick seemed to have a newfound respect for him too, although he couldn't honestly say they were friends (especially as this respect didn't seem to extend to letting him keep his desserts during lunchtime).

Stephen was sure of one thing from all this though - he promised himself he would never ever be the bully. He would never call people names, or make them do things they didn't want to do, or make them feel trapped, or make them feel less than who they really were.

He knew what it felt like. He could never do that to someone else…

Years later, Stephen – along with many of his other classmates from Aperture Academy – found themselves being sent recruitment letters from Aperture Science. Although he was certainly leery of the place, especially since that day his dad came home looking frightened nearly out of his mind, Stephen figured it would also be rather poor sport to turn down a job opportunity right out of college. Of course it wasn't a very high-ranking position in the facility that he got, but it paid well, and you had to start somewhere.

As he settled into the office, Stephen eventually got used to hearing himself being called 'Wheatley' (as most everyone went only by last names in that place), and as the repetitive days wore on, he eventually came to have all sorts of ideas for the place that he thought would make it better. Part of him kept telling him they were silly ideas – and also the lack of responses to the emails and letters he would send to his directors telling about his ideas projected the same thing – but he knew that you never knew until you tried. Plus he felt like at some point, way back in his memories, there was a time when daring to share his interests and what he thought turned out well.

It was quite a while ago now though, so it never came up to the forefront of his thinking. In fact, it didn't come back in so much as a thought, but more like a feeling; a feeling of blue skies, and sunshine, and fresh air.

A feeling like…the first day of spring.

After the accident, Chell's dad had sent her away to live with Uncle James and Aunt Patricia. Chell was certain it was because of what had happened at Aperture that one day. She had mixed feelings about leaving, as she had to leave her dad and her friends, and of course Stephen whom she didn't get the chance to talk to again. Yet she also wanted to stay because although she was now terrified of the place, she very much wanted to be there for her dad…She also wanted to figure out what was really going on there. Perhaps that was another reason why her dad was sending her away; because he knew she wouldn't be able to keep away from there after what happened. He knew her too well. If there was some way for her to get closer to figuring out the truth, she would find it.

And eventually, she did find a way.

Years later, Chell set up her own bakery in her old hometown. She enjoyed cooking and baking and creating things, so it was all rather ideal really. At first her dad was happy to see her as she came walking in through his front door one day, but then his joy turned to alarm as she then brought him to see the building she had rented for the bakery. It was meant to be a surprise, and yet she wasn't surprised as his reaction to it wasn't quite one of happiness and congratulations. She knew part of the reason for his fears, and this bakery was going to help her find the rest of the answers.

A few months after she opened for business, Chell got a request from Aperture Science to deliver and serve bagels and Danish pastries and other baked goods to their employees in the mornings. It was just the sort of opportunity Chell had been waiting for. Although she still felt a chill go down her spine sometimes as she went down the lift into the offices, and also never forgot the look of horror her dad gave her as he passed by her station on one of her first days, she somehow knew that she had to be there. If nothing else, she could at least brighten the days of the employees who had to work in that dismal place – bring them into the fresh air, even if only for a little while. But very few of the employees ever paused to even thank her for the bagels, let alone have any conversation with her.

Except for one.

He was quite tall, with short blonde hair, a slightly pointed nose, glasses, and very bright blue eyes. Stratosphere blue, if Chell had to guess the exact shade of blue they were. He never exchanged names with her (as his speech would become stuttered whenever he would try to talk to her) but his nametag said 'Wheatley'. It was his last name she knew. They only went by last names in that place.

He was the only lighthearted soul she met in that place. He even made her laugh one day, which, although she herself wasn't a dismal person, never really did out loud very much. It was a rare person who could make her do that. He reminded her of someone, although she could never quite think of whom. Rather, it was more like renewed a feeling inside of her that was recalled. It was a feeling that had to do with blue skies, warm sunshine, and a fresh, cool breeze.

A feeling…like on the first day of spring.

One day, he didn't come back.

Chell left his usual bagel order in his cubicle the next day, and the day after that. Still, he never came. Eventually, someone else moved into his old spot. That place now felt more dreadful than ever. Chell felt as if a piercing cold wind had blown away the warm spring air, and perhaps signaled a harsh and cold winter was on its way for that place.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, deep in the facility, a small spherical robot was taking in his first pictures of the world through his singular round lens, his voice filling with glee as he guessed the name they claimed to have made for him.

"…Wheatley! That's it, isn't it, that's my name!"


End file.
